Choosing a Writer's Group, Part I

Hi Valerie,
I took your writing class a few years ago and was working on a children’s book at the time. I’ve finished that book and now am writing a YA. I’d love to join a writer’s group. Do you have any suggestions of where I should start? Thanks so much.
Terry H.
Thanks, Terry, that’s a great question. Joining a writer’s group is an excellent way to keep on track with your writing. Groups can provide you with feedback on your manuscript progress as well as help you maintain a consistent writing schedule.

The first thing I can tell Terry and anyone else in her position is that there are essentially three distinct types of groups: professional organizations; critique groups; and writing “support” groups (for lack of a better term). Professional groups are organized somewhat along corporate lines with a president, a board of officers, bylaws, and the range of the group can be state- if not nation-wide or even international. In Terry’s case I would recommend she join up with a group such as The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. If her YA is perhaps a romance, joining Romance Writers of America would be a smart move too. And because Terry lives in the Atlanta area, she might like to also become a member of Georgia Writers.

The wonderful thing about these organizations and others like them is there really is at least one for every genre or region you can think of. The only possible drawback to joining might be the membership fees. That said, dues often include a subscription to a newsletter or magazine, and members should receive discounts to conferences and other events—events with editors, celebrity authors, workshops, and all sorts of good things only available through that particular organization.

Critique groups are frequently made up of members who belong to the same pro organizations described above. Not only do members hold a common interest in a particular genre or theme, but they probably all met each other at a conference or regional meeting to begin with! However, it isn’t necessary to think you have to belong to the larger group first. The most important criteria is whether you feel you can receive a helpful critique of your work from the group and you feel comfortable with the other members.

Critique groups work best when they are based on the premise that members will bring a certain amount of unpublished manuscript pages to the meetings and everyone participates equally in the critiquing. One of the best critique groups I ever belonged to met every two weeks for an 8-hour session (we brought our lunch). We were all writing novels at the time so members brought copies of their current chapter to each meeting. The person being critiqued read his or her manuscript pages aloud while the others followed along, pen in hand, making notes on typos or awkward sentences or just things that drove them crazy. When the reading was finished, we went around in a circle and discussed our notes. Then we gave the marked-up copies back to the writer being critiqued. It was a long day but oh, did we learn. And write. The screenwriting group I belong to now doesn't have the luxury of an 8-hour day and we meet in the evening. To save time we email our manuscripts to each other for critiquing at home. Then we bring our notes to the meetings for discussion.

My freewrting/support group is a whole 'nother kind of animal. Not only do we forego critiquing, we use the meetings as a time to experiment. Our format is simple but effective: as soon as we’re settled with coffee (we meet at a local bookstore cafe), we choose a writing prompt from whatever’s handy, e.g. a book title, a mood, or something already selected from a magazine cut-out. We then write on that topic in silence for 20 minutes. When the time’s up, we go around in a circle and read our pages. After that we spend a few minutes sharing personal or professional news, followed by the reading and sharing of our bi-weekly “assignments.” These are based on a prompt or theme chosen at the last meeting. Topics range from the philosophical, “What is art for?” to the evocative, “Into the woods…” We limit ourselves to five pages each so our meetings don’t go on too long.

Lately we’ve had the wonderful idea of including illustration to go with our writing. Members have been painting, collaging, drawing, photographing…it’s been thrilling to see how far we can go beyond words. We also welcome any genre or form of writing, from screenplay to poetry to personal essay. This year we’re doing most of our work in art journals to more easily accommodate both writing and artwork at the same time. I love it!

But what if you’re thinking, well, this sounds very nice but I don’t live anywhere near other writers, or, I’ve tried a couple of critique groups and just didn’t feel “right” about being there. I hear you loud and clear. Next post I’ll address these concerns and discuss how to start a group of your own while avoiding that great time and energy drain: the toxic group.

Tip of the Day: If you haven’t already, do consider joining a writers’ group. The most important thing is to decide which type is best for you.

Finishing Line

One of my favorite classes I teach is called “Write that Novel (and Finish it Too!)". It’s always been a strong belief of mine that the only books readers want to buy and read are the finished ones, and that probably holds true for agents and editors as well. But like many writers, I have to admit that not every one of my manuscripts is finished. And guess what? They’re the ones I haven’t sold.

The problem came home to me the other day when I was inventing excuses to explain my reluctance to work on the current WIP and wondering if I really had to write it (you mean I do have to figure out those old family connections and why my MC is so terrified of change and…?). Well, you get the picture. After the heady fun of first draft write-whatever-comes-to-mind, second drafts can feel like pure slog and I wasn’t in the mood for work.

While I was wishing the manuscript would write itself, I suddenly thought about my most embarrassing unfinished project to date; not a manuscript but a sweater. Some time before Christmas I started to knit for my husband a fairly simple (or so it seemed) pullover. And then some time before New Year’s I stopped; the reason being that I didn’t know how to begin decreasing for the sleeves. Every time I tried to read the instructions in the knitting manual the words just turned to squiggles and I couldn’t understand any of it. It was as if the entire pattern was written in secret code and I didn't have the code book.

Thinking I would return to it "later," I left it neatly folded on a chair. Except later never came and even with my husband making little jokes: “Is that a cat or a sweater on that chair?” (we don’t have a cat) I managed to avoid any knitting whatsoever until I got stuck on my manuscript.

Last Sunday while I was trying to decide what to do with 200 pages of what seemed like sheer drivel (throw it in the trash?) I thought I should take a look at the sweater—I was that desperate to avoid writing. I went to the chair where it had been folded for a good two months and discovered a spider had taken up where I had left off, weaving an incredibly complex and strong tubular web right across the entire top row. Fitting right in with the whole abandonment metaphor, the web was empty, the spider having moved on and by the dusty look of it, a while ago.

I stood there with what in truth was a very nice and neatly knitted piece of the back and decided that I simply had to find out what to do next. I thought if I began now I could have the sweater finished by the start of next winter, oh happy thought, or worse case scenario, next Christmas. Yes, I would do it.

It took a morning of bright light, strong coffee, and utter silence, but in the end I successfully deciphered the pattern and knitted to the point that my confidence returned and I was able to complete nearly six more inches. Strangely, my manuscript also became a lot more attractive to me. When I put my knitting down and returned to the computer, I was able to see a way out of my current chapter dilemma and how to get back on track.

Later that day I went to my writer’s group and on the way driving there I realized the main reason we leave things unfinished is because we don’t know what to do, and not knowing what to do leads to fear, mainly fear of failure. With that is the unreasonable notion that we’re supposed to figure it all out by ourselves or by magic, a kind of ta-dah moment when everything becomes clear with no effort or research on our part. To understand my knitting pattern I had to take the time to be quiet, read the directions, and experiment until I got it right. The same goes for my manuscript. It’s impossible to know whether Chapter Five should be Chapter Seventeen or vice versa if I don’t try putting those arrangements down on paper. And if I’m stuck or need help, all I need to do is ask—either a writer friend, or look up my question on-line or in one of the several great how-to books I own. There are no secret codes. All it takes is a little effort and a whole lot of willingness to be wrong for the answer to appear, usually right on the page in front of us.

Tip of the day: What creative project or manuscript have you left unfinished, and why? Go dig it out of its hiding place and resolve to make a fresh start. If you’re stuck, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Once you have some answers and solutions, dive back in as soon as you can.